VA politician Justin Fairfax denies sexual assualt allegations, calls fr investigation
By Mona Austin
Virginia's Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax made a statement on the CBS network Wednesday morning challenging the two women who accused him of sexual assault. He continues to claim both accusations are false.
Both women came forth against Fairfax in February during a time when he could have potentially become governor, after Virginia's Gov. Ralph Northam was involved in a racist photo scandal.
Dr. Vanessa Tyson says Fairfax forced her to perform oral sex when they met at the DNC in Boston in 2004. Meredith Watson says Fairfax raped her in 2000 when they were students at Duke University.
"After I arrived, I met Dr. Tyson, who was a volunteer at the Convention. As young adults and students we spent time together talking. . . . What she alleged never happened. At no time did I force any contact," he said.
Fairfax further claimed the timing Tyson gave was off, because he and then Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards were not at the convention on the date in question. But, he admitted again that he and Dr. Tyson had engaged in a "completely consensual activity." He gave the impression that her entire story was conflated saying at no time was she crying. He also said they spoke several times after the convention where they met and that Dr. Tyson wanted to introduce him to her mother, although she had claimed they never spoke again.
Fairfax also contradicted Watson's account of their interaction.
"On one occasion late in my senior year in the year 2000, she initiated a consensual encounter with me. I did not rape or sexually assault Meredith Watson. I did not lock the door, turn out the lights, hold her down, or use any physical force whatsoever. We were both willing participants," he explained.
Republican lawmakers in Virginia wanted the accusers to testify before the General Assembly to determined if Fairfax should resign. House Democrats say criminal investigations in the state where the incidents allegedly occured should be conducted before the Virginia legislature gets involved.
Fighting to clear his name, Fairfax welcomes an investigation, and invited prosecutors in Boston and Durham to investigate the matter. He believes the results will be the same as his polygraph test, stating that he passed it on the first attempt.
